Francis X. Flaherty (born January 8, 1947) is a former Associate Justice of the
Rhode Island Supreme Court. Flaherty was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor
Donald Carcieri in 2003. Prior to his service on the Supreme Court, his career included service as a member of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, the mayor of the city of
Warwick, and the private practice of law.
Flaherty is a graduate of
Suffolk University Law School
Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...
and
Providence College
Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...
. Between college and law school, he served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970. His service included deployment to Vietnam where he earned the
Bronze Star for Valor as a platoon leader.
After graduating from law school, Flaherty was an Assistant City Solicitor in Warwick from 1975 until 1978. His political career then began with election to the City Council in 1978 and eventual election to three terms as mayor of
Warwick serving from 1985 to 1990. He ran unsuccessfully in the
Democratic Party Primary for
Governor of Rhode Island in 1990 and 1992, though he came narrowly close to victory over the incumbent, Governor
Bruce Sundlun, in 1992. In the years after, Flaherty returned to private law practice, served on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education from 1998 to 2003, and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003.
In October 2020, Flaherty announced his intention to retire on December 31, 2020.
References
External links
Bio page
1947 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
20th-century mayors of places in Rhode Island
Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
Mayors of Warwick, Rhode Island
Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island
Suffolk University Law School alumni
Rhode Island city council members
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